Iran’s Foreign Minister on Friday (March 27, 2026) branded a deadly strike on an Iranian school on the first day of the West Asian war as a “calculated” U.S. assault.

Iran-Israel war LIVE updates: March 27, 2026

Addressing an urgent debate in the United Nations Human Rights Council focused on the February 28 strike on an Iranian elementary school in Minab, Abbas Araghchi said “more than 175 students and teachers were slaughtered in cold blood” in a “calculated, phased assault”.

The strike, he said in a video address, “was a war crime and a crime against humanity, one that demands unequivocal condemnation by all, and unambiguous accountability for the culprits”.

UN rights chief Volker Turk, meanwhile, said the bombing evoked “visceral horror”, insisting upon the need for “justice”, in a video address to the council.

Mohaddeseh Falahat, the mother of two children who died in the attack, also spoke to the council by video, calling for the diplomats in Geneva “not to let this tragedy be forgotten”.

“No mother is prepared to hear the words: ‘Your child is not coming back’,” she said, in an emotional address.

‘Deliberate and intentional’

The attack happened on February 28, on the day the United States and Israel launched the war with attacks across Iran, with Tehran in turn striking targets in Israel and Gulf nations.

A U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile hit the elementary school due to a targeting mistake, according to the preliminary findings of a U.S. military investigation reported by The New York Times.

The newspaper said the U.S. military was bombing an adjacent Iranian base, of which the school building was formerly a part, and target coordinates were set using outdated data.

U.S. President Donald Trump initially suggested that Iran itself may have been responsible — despite Iran not having Tomahawk missiles.

UN rights chief Turk stressed that “the onus is on those who carried out the attack to investigate it promptly, impartially, transparently and thoroughly”.

“Senior U.S. officials have said the strike is under investigation,” he said, calling for its findings to be made public.

Mr. Araghchi did not wait for the results of the probe to attribute blame.

“At a time when the American-Israeli aggressors, in their own assertions, possess the most advanced technologies and the highest-precision military and data systems, no one can believe that the attack on the school was anything other than deliberate and intentional,” he told the council.

‘Atrocity’

“This atrocity cannot be justified, cannot be concealed, and must not be met with silence and indifference,” the Minister said.

“The United States’ contradictory remarks aimed at justifying their crime could not, in any manner, elude their responsibility,” he insisted.

Friday’s discussion, at the request of Iran, China and Cuba, marked the second urgent debate before the rights council this week, focused on the war in West Asia.

On Wednesday (March 25, 2026), a debate requested by Bahrain on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordan, considered Iran’s strikes on countries across the Gulf region and their impact on civilians.

Following that debate, the 47-member council approved by consensus a resolution condemning Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbours, calling for swift “reparation” to all victims of its strikes.

No draft resolution was discussed during Friday’s debate.

Published – March 27, 2026 05:12 pm IST

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The top diplomats of China and Iran agreed on Saturday (December 28, 2024) that West Asia is “not a battleground for the big powers” and should not be an arena of geopolitical competition between countries outside the region.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi agreed that “the international community should respect the sovereignty, security, stability, unity and territorial integrity of Middle East countries,” according to a readout from Beijing’s Foreign Ministry.

Mr. Araghchi is on his first visit to China since being appointed Foreign Minister of Iran.

The two major trading partners reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, the proper implementation of the ceasefire in Lebanon, and the “integrated promotion of counter-terrorism, reconciliation and humanitarian processes in Syria”, according to the readout.

“The two sides agreed that the Middle East [West Asia] belongs to the people of the Middle East [West Asia], and is not a battleground for the big powers, and should not be a victim of geopolitical competition and conflicts between countries from outside the region,” the Ministry said.

China and Iran were both supporters of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is an ardent opponent of Tehran.

Mr. Araghchi and Mr. Wang also discussed Iran’s nuclear programme, which governments including Britain and the United States say could be on its way to building weapons.

Tensions have soared over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions since then-President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a landmark agreement that traded sanctions relief for limits on Iran’s nuclear program.

China is a signatory to that agreement, and Mr. Wang told Mr. Araghchi on Saturday (December 28, 2024) that Beijing “firmly supports the Iranian side in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests”.

China is Iran’s largest trading partner and a top buyer of its sanctioned oil.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, speaks during a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 13, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Iran’s Foreign Minister on Saturday called on Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza, warning that the war might expand to other parts of the Middle East if Hezbollah joins the battle, and that would make Israel suffer “a huge earthquake.”

Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut that Lebanon’s Hezbollah group has taken all the scenarios of a war into consideration and Israel should stop its attacks on Gaza as soon as possible.

Israel considers Hezbollah its most serious immediate threat, estimating it has some 1,50,000 rockets and missiles, including precision-guided missiles that can hit anywhere in Israel. The group, which has thousands of battle-hardened fighters who participated in Syria’s 12-year conflict, also has different types of military drones.

Follow live updates from the Israel-Hamas war on October 14, 2023

Hezbollah fighters have been on full alert along Lebanon’s borders with Israel following last Saturday’s attack by the militant Palestinian group Hamas that left hundreds of Israeli civilians and soldiers dead.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said an Israeli drone strike along the border with Lebanon killed a “cell” that was trying to infiltrate into Israel. On Friday, Hezbollah said its fighters fired several rockets at four Israel positions along the border.

Amirabdollahian said he met Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who briefed him on the group’s conditions in Lebanon.

“I know about the scenarios that Hezbollah has put in place,” Amirabdollahian said. “Any step the resistance (Hezbollah) will take will cause a huge earthquake in the Zionist entity.”

Amirabdollahian added: “I want to warn the war criminals and those who support this entity before it’s too late to stop the crimes against civilians in Gaza, because it might be too late in few hours.”

With an eye toward Hezbollah, U.S. President Joe Biden has warned other players in the Middle East not to join the conflict and has sent American warships to the region and vowed full support for Israel.

The Iranian foreign minister said he will be contacting U.N. officials in the Middle East because “there is still an opportunity to work on an initiative (to end the war) but it might be too late tomorrow.”

The possibility of a new front in Lebanon brings back bitter memories of a vicious monthlong war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 that ended in a stalemate and a tense detente between the two sides.